Helen Petsche reads the number on the bottom of a rubber duck as she plays the duck pond game Wednesday during the Euclid Beach Carnival at Parker Place in Euclid.

Dozens of people who experienced the thrills of racing down the steep hills of the Thriller Roller Coaster as well as the excitement created by other Euclid Beach rides revisited past memories on Wednesday at Parker Place Retirement Village in Mentor.

Casually milling about, they perused memorabilia, played midway games, munched on popcorn balls and shared stories about the once highly visited locale.

Euclid Beach Park, formerly located on Lake Shore Boulevard in the Collinwood area of Cleveland, opened in 1895, drawing thousands of visitors from Northeast Ohio each summer until it closed in September 1969.

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Bob Waschura, 78, of Euclid, lived on nearby Neff Road while growing up and claims he visited there almost every night to take a spin on the Flying Turns and Dodgems.

"It was one of the only parks in America that was alcohol-free," he said.

"The Humphrey family (who owned the park) was very proud of that."

John Fulton worked at the park from 1956 through 1968 and was assigned to the American Racing Derby, with the job of ensuring no one fell off the wooden steeds "racing" at 30 mph.

Though it took lots of practice, he prided himself on jumping on and off while the ride was in motion.

Fulton, who now lives in North Carolina with his wife, Linda, said employees received discounts on food items and often rode all the rides for free.

Mary Tomsick of Richmond Heights accompanied her mother, Grace DeHaas, a Parker Place resident, to the event.

"Laughing Sal used to scare the bejeebers out of me," Tomsick said of the larger-than-life animated figure whose loud, raucous laugh and rocking body held many in amazement.

Dress code was a topic of conversation for Marilyn Weir, a Parker Place resident who recalled taking a streetcar to the park along with two of her friends, only to be refused entrance because one of the girls wore a backless sun dress, which was considered inappropriate attire.

Ernie Attwood worked at the park from 1959 to 1962 while living in Collinwood.

Overall, his memories of the park mirrored those of many at the event.

"I liked when you could go there with a few bucks in your pocket, and then when you ran out of money you could just sit down and people watch," he said.

An annual celebration of the park will take place from 1 to 5 p.m. Sept. 29 at Euclid Beach State Park at Lake Shore Boulevard and East 156th Street.